How to Store Fresh Parsley and Cilantro

Grocery stores sell food to make money. That means when you buy fresh vegetables, fruit, and herbs they are displayed and sold in a way that takes the least amount of room to move product. Basically what's best for your herbs and veggies isn't always the way that the grocery store sells them. The best examples are parsley and cilantro. Most stores pile them into a bin and spray them with water multiple times a day. No!!! Then most shoppers go to the store, bag the herbs, and throw them into the crisper drawer. Five days later the herbs have turned black and mushy and need to be thrown out. No one wants to waste money throwing out fresh ingredients.

The answer is to store your parsley and cilantro correctly once they come home from the grocery store or are picked from your garden. Storing them correctly is actually very easy and they can last up to two weeks, giving you a lot longer to make that fabulous recipe that you bought them for in the first place. The following is the method I use to store parsley and cilantro in the fridge and it works great!

• If you buy your parsley and cilantro from the grocery store the first thing you want to do is take them out of the bag, remove the wire (or other binding), wash them, and then cut off about 1/2 inch of the bottom stems. 
• Fill a small glass with water. 
• Place the stems in the glass,
• Cover the herbs with a large Ziploc bag, the end of the bag with the zipper should be at the end of the cup. Use a large bag so the herbs have room to breath. 
• Zip the bottom of the bag closed around the cup. This is important, it keeps the air out of the bag making the herbs last longer in the fridge. 
• Place the herbs in the fridge for 1-2 weeks (parsley can actually last longer sometimes 3-4 weeks, especially if it's fresh cut from your garden). 
• If you are using garden herbs follow the same steps, just skip the steps regarding taking off the bag and wire. 

That's it, very easy and will make your fresh herbs last significantly longer. This method also works for fresh dill.

Mediterranean Tuna and Bean Salad

Lying by omission. This has been the hard life lesson I have been trying to teach my oldest son the last couple of weeks. I think that as adults we do it all the time. Some lies we do to spare other people's feelings, but some lies by omission we do to make our selves feel better or avoid feeling uncomfortable. Instead of lying I have been trying to teach my son ways to be constructive with his criticism. If you don't like something don't lie about it, but don't make the other person feel bad about the situation. It's okay if you don't like dinner, just don't say it was horrible. Instead tell me what you liked about the dish and add a compliment at the end, "I liked the peppers in the meal even though the dish was spicy, it reminds me of that great recipe with peppers you made last week." You don't have to like everything and you shouldn't have to lie about it, just don't tell the truth in a way that hurts someone else. I would rather that someone told me something constructive than tell me that everything that I ever did was wonderful and great, nothing is learned or gained from never having anything negative told to you. It's all about balance in the end, both positive and negative comments help us to be well rounded individuals.

Since it has been hot for the last week in my area I have been trying to make cooler foods for dinner. It doesn't help that my oven broke and it wasn't until today that I finally got a new one. So cold salads have been on the menu in my house a lot lately. Last week I tried a new recipe for Mediterranean Tuna and Bean Salad from the Kroger home mailer. 

Now 99 percent of the time I don't copy recipes outright. The exception I have always made are recipes that are sent in coupon circulars and recipes on packages. I still change the steps to avoid copyright, but I view these recipes as advertisement for the product and company and not in the same category as other printed recipes. So here is the recipe from Kroger: 

• 2 (5 ounce) cans solid white tuna in water, drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 12 radishes, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 2/3 cup chopped parsley
• 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix. Serve over spinach or salad of your choice. Also great with crackers. 

That's it. I would suggest adding a small amount of fresh dill if you have it. I love fresh dill with tuna it gives it a nice fresh taste and during the summer dill is very easy to grow in a pot or in your garden. My dill is doing great right now and I look forward to many recipes using dill soon. 

Pork Tenderloin with Baked Apples and Barley

Pork Tenderloin with Baked Apples and Barley

I hate putting up holiday decorations. After this post I will probably get my Pinterest account revoked for lack of Christmas decoration enthusiasm, but I just don't have any. This anti-love of decorations was cultivated in the 80's. My mother had a basement cubby full of decorations for every holiday, and I do mean every (did you know that you can decorate for President's Day). While she loved the decorations it fell to my father and I to actually haul up all the boxes and do the decorating while she sat on the coach giving directions. One year my dad actually pulled the Christmas tree down after my mother had him re-do the lights again for the 12th time. After that we had pre-lit trees. When my mother passed away I was sent all her ornaments. She made most of them by hand and they are beautiful. I put them up for a few years, but ultimately decided that they are treasures that I would hate to have ruined. So they sit in a carefully done box in the closet and my kids picked out a table top artificial tree last year. It's white with blue lights and tacky, but they love it. They were fine with that being the only decoration and it took minutes to put away, my idea of the perfect Christmas decoration. So this year my house will not bleed Christmas cheer with decorations, but will be brimming with the love of family shown through togetherness and a big Christmas meal. For me that is a perfect Christmas.

One of my family's favorite foods is pork. My boys love it in any form, but especially as bacon or pork tenderloin. This week I tried a new recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Apples from the October 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

Old Iron Furnace 

This recipe 11 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. I used Gala apples for the apple variety since they were what was available in my area. My tenderloin took less than 25 minutes to cook, it temped at 145 degrees at 15 minutes of cooking time. Make sure to tent the tenderloin with foil for 10 minutes after baking. This allows the juices to stay in the pork and makes for a moister tenderloin.

Vesuvius Iron Furnace 

My two boys fell in love with the barley. They had never eaten it before since I can't have it and therefore I normally don't serve it for dinners. Both of them were determined it tasted like stuffing. The apples were okay, but honestly the pork was better. When taken in the same bite though the flavors complimented each other nicely. The pan sauce was delicious and perfect with the pork.

For the recipe go to Pork Tenderloin with Apples.

Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Shallots

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A perfect fall meal of pork tenderloin, baked apples and barley with parsley and shallots. A great complete meal!

Preparation Time: 0h, 20m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 4

Absolutely Swimming in Homegrown Cherry Tomatoes? Try a Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream. My two-year-old has been chanting this phrase most of the day. It's definitely ice cream season in my household. Every member of my household has their favorite flavors: my kids love anything with chocolate, I prefer frozen yogurt, and my husband always loves weird mix-ins like potato chips. We can all agree that no matter how it's made ice cream spells summer. During the colder months ice cream rarely makes an appearance in my house. It can get very cold here in the middle of winter and when I'm freezing the last thing that I want is something to make me even colder. In the summer it's a different story. I roast in the humidity and ice cream is a great way to cool off. Another of my favorite summer foods is tomatoes. This year I am growing my own, they are growing like crazy and by next week they should be ready to pick. In the meantime I have been relying on store bought tomatoes. Last week I tried a new recipe for Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad from allrecipes.com.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 2 hours 10 minutes, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I did make a few modifications. First I only had two cups of cherry tomatoes, so I cut the recipe in half. Second, I substituted olive oil for vegetable oil. I prefer cooking with olive oil when possible. Finally, I allowed the salad to sit 4 hours to ensure that the tomatoes fully absorbed the flavors.

My oldest son thought these tomatoes were spicy. The vinegar taste is definitely adult orientated. As an adult I really like the taste of the apple cider vinegar. It blended very nicely with the tomatoes and the recipe made a nice light side for the pasta dish that we ate it with. Overall, a great way to use summer tomatoes.

For the recipe go to Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad.

Recipe for Pesto Pork with Polenta

Scallion-Basil Pesto with Pork Tenderloin, Spinach and Polenta

I can't believe how quickly this year is already going by. My oldest is done with school next month and will be in second grade next year. There are days when I fell overwhelmed and under appreciated staying at home and then I realize how quickly my kids are growing-up and how much I love spending so much time with them as they grow. As my kids are getting older they are also beginning to eat a lot more. Since both of my kids are boys I don't even want to think about how much food they will be consuming as teenagers. Plus they are close enough in age that they will both be eating my entire refrigerator at about the same time. Keeping snacks readily available and doubling recipes has become a must in my household. One meal that is always a favorite in my house is pork. It doesn't matter how I prepare it, my two boys absolutely love it. Last week I tried a new recipe for Pesto Pork with Polenta from the April 2012 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to this recipe. First to prepare the polenta I sliced it into 1/2 inch thick slices, brushed both sides with olive oil and seared the slices on my indoor electric grill until they had nice grill marks. As I've stated many times before you really need to temp pork. The recipe is 100 percent correct about pulling out the pork at 145 degrees. While resting the pork will cook another 5 degrees. Not letting pork rest or cooking it past 145 degrees will result in tough and overcooked meat. I found that I had to add very little salt to the pesto since Worcestershire sauce is high in salt.

I really like that this recipe is a complete meal. The polenta and spinach make great sides to the pork and the polenta ended up being the most popular part of the dish with my two sons. The pesto has a really nice flavor with an umami undertone from the Worcestershire sauce. In addition to the pork the pesto would also work nicely with fish dish due to its citrus taste.

For the recipe go to Pesto Pork with Polenta.

Recipe for Chicken Breasts with Parsley Caper Pesto and Ramp Oven Roasted Potatoes

Chicken Breasts with Parsley Caper Pesto and Ramp Oven Roasted Potatoes

Easter is next weekend and I haven't even begun to plan anything. The last month has been all over the place with me having strep and now both of my boys have a stomach virus. Easter planning has taken a back seat. More than likely we are going to keep things low key and have Easter at our house with just my family. It will be nice since I host a lot of holidays and I tend to stress myself out. My boys are insisting on ham (I voted for lamb) and I will more than likely make roasted potatoes with ramp pesto, my mother-in-laws homemade roll recipe and some sort of vegetable. That is as far as I got this morning and more than likely it will stay pretty much the same. I do intend to dye Easter eggs sometime this week with food dyes (red cabbage, turmeric, onions, beets). Using food is really easy and I prefer it to store bought dyes. Luckily the Easter bunny has been ahead of schedule and already purchased everything for my boy's baskets. With Easter coming up and spring break being last week I have been making easy meals with minimal prep. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chicken Breasts with Parsley-Caper Pesto from the Everyday Food insert of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. I takes 55 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to this recipe. First I used fingerling potatoes instead of small reds. I also added whole young ramps to the olive oil and potatoes before roasting. Additionally I added a small amount of ramps to the pesto to add flavor. The recipe states to rinse the capers, I chose to skip this step. My husband and I enjoy the salty taste of capers so I left the capers unrinsed for flavor. Finally since my breasts were so large it cook a lot longer than the 35 minutes stated in the recipe. I took the potatoes out at that time stated in the recipe and let the breast cook for an additional 30 minutes until they hit temp.

My husband and I were skeptical of this recipe. Neither of us are big fans of chicken breasts, we both prefer thighs. Previous recipes I have tried using chicken breasts have been dry, but this recipe turned out tender and juicy. The pesto really helped to keep the moisture in the kitchen and adding the ramps created a nice flavor. Since the breasts I used were so large I also had enough leftovers for chicken salad the next day.

For the recipe go to Chicken Breasts with Parsley-Caper Pesto.

Easy Homemade Tomato Soup

Homemade Tomato Soup

I love comfort food. There is something so great about a home cooked meal that can completely turn my mood around or make me feel better after I have been sick. Everyone has their favorite comfort food. My two boys prefer macaroni and cheese, while my husband loves pinto beans and cornbread. I love a number of different comfort foods, but my favorite combination is grilled cheese and tomato soup. There is something so delicious about a great bowl of tomato soup and a perfectly cooked grilled cheese sandwich. Canned soup just doesn't do it for me, for tasty tomato soup I must have homemade. Fresh tomatoes made into a simple tomato soup are easy and perfect. The taste of the tomatoes shines through and just makes me feel great. Last week I tried a new recipe for Tomato Soup from the February issue of All You magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 60 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active. I did make a number of changes to this recipe. First I just made the soup and not the cheddar croutons. Second I pureed the some while it was still warm. Just make sure that the lid is firmly attached and place a rag over the top to ensure that you do not get burned. I did allow the soup to cook for an additional 10 minutes after it was pureed to ensure it was the proper thickness.

If you want to make the soup a cream of tomato soup you can add half and half or heavy cream instead of the water. You could also add the half and half or heavy cream at the end of the recipe before serving and allow it to cook for an additional five minutes. I like that this soup is simple and lets the flavor of the tomatoes shine through. Make sure to adequately salt the soup, it will need it. Overall, a great recipe that worked well as a side for grilled cheese sandwiches and I would definitely make again.

For the recipe go to Tomato Soup. 

Spanish Turkey Meatball Stew

I love my food with lots of flavor. Dishes that are bland or lack any kind of spice have never been something that I liked. Growing-up my mother loved any type of ethnic food she could try and we went to every type of restaurant my mom could find. She also loved going to small ethnic grocery stores to find just the right ingredient for a recipe she had gotten from someone. It was through her that I learned to love and use spices in my cooking. Using the right spice can transform a mediocre dish into something spectacular. Having two boys I am always having to find the right balance between the spice that I want and what my boys will actually eat. So I often modify recipes to still have great flavor with a little less bite. This week I tried a new recipe for Spanish Turkey Meatball Stew from the October 2012 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes. First I used baby carrots which I sliced instead of full sized carrots. I love using baby carrots in recipes, they are easy to work with since they are never too thick. Instead of using canned chickpeas I made my chickpeas from scratch. A great way to save money is to make a large batch of dried beans and then freeze them in smaller portions. Much cheaper than canned and lower in sodium. For the turkey I used 93% lean. I find that 85% is way too greasy and the more lean varieties are too dry. Since I make my own chicken stock I always have to add salt at the table, but if you use store bought this shouldn't be as much of a problem.

I found that this recipe made more than four servings. There was enough stew for two meals for my family of 4. I did think that it might have been nice if their were some egg noddles to add a little more texture to the soup. I would also suggest adding another cup of chicken broth to make a larger amount of broth. The spiciness was perfect for my two boys, but if you like more of a kick I would suggest adding 1/8-1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper. My two boys were fans of this recipe and add their servings happily, so it was kid friendly (at least in my house).

For the recipe go to Spanish Turkey Meatball Stew.

Delicious Rigatoni with Calabrese Style Pork Ragu

 My family loves pasta. So much so that I prepare it approximately once a week for dinner. When I was growing up my mom always made a lot of pasta since it was inexpensive to make and could feed our entire family. She was great with inventing recipes from just spaghetti and the ingredients in our cupboards. I wish that I had inherited half of her recipe invention talents. While I don't invent recipes the same way that my mother did, I do like taking recipes and making them my own. Since I eat gluten free I am always taking regular pasta recipes and re-inventing them to my needs. This week I tried a new recipe for Rigatoni with Calabrese Style Pork Ragu from the February 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 5 hours of total time, 60 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice flour ziti. I have never seen rigatoni gluten free in my area, so I always use what I have access to. Since I was serving this recipe to my kids I used mild Italian sausage, instead of spicy sausage. I would have used spicy sausage if it was just for my husband and I. I rarely buy ground meat from the grocery store. For this recipe I had leftover pork shoulder which I ground up and used. When I went to make this recipe it turned out that I had forgotten to buy fresh parsley so I had to substitute dried parsley instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Even though this recipe states that it makes only 6 servings, I had a ton of leftovers. There was enough for two additional meals. I did let my sauce thicken longer than the recipe. I had to add a slight amount of water during the four hour cooking time. However, at the end of the cooking time it was still a little thinner than I liked so I turned up the heat a little and let it cook without a lid until it had fully thickened. I also did not add additional cooking water after adding the pasta since it wasn't necessary. My family really loved this recipe. I would suggest adding a larger amount of crushed red pepper if you use mild sausage and make sure to adequately salt, it will need it.

For the recipe go to Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese Style Pork Ragu.

Caramelized Garlic and Dry Sherry Chicken

I can't believe that Christmas is so close. I thought that I was doing well with holiday prep until I realized that I haven't even started to think about sending out my Christmas cards. It seems other people are more on top of their game since I have already received a number of cards from people that got their cards out early. I am determined that I will have mine sent out by the end of the week. My kids are in full on Santa mode. Everything is about Santa, they live and breath everything to do with Christmas. Today we talked about what I was going to make for Christmas, which to me seemed important, but to my two kids it just distracted from the presents. Food is an after thought. Regardless of what my children think I will make a great meal and we will enjoy it thoroughly. Until Christmas rolls around I am trying to keep our meals simple and light. Last week I tried a new recipe for Dolore's Brokenhearted Chicken from Saveur magazine, which looked perfect for a weeknight meal.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes an hour and 10 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Instead of buying a whole chicken, I bought chicken thighs. Honestly, I hate cutting-up chickens and I prefer thighs to most other cuts. As I always do I used a stainless steel skillet. They work much better at browning chicken than non-stick pans. Since I don't eat gluten I used gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of regular wheat flour. Make sure to baste the chicken during the time in the oven. This really does help keep the chicken moist and flavorful. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys were big fans of this recipe. The chicken came out tender and the caramelized garlic was delicious. The recipe was simple, but the sherry and garlic made for a flavorful dish. This chicken would work well with a simple side such as green beans or rice pilaf. Overall, an easy roasted chicken recipe that is very child friendly.

For the recipe go to Caramelized Garlic and Dry Sherry Chicken.

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder with Shrimp

My family enjoyed the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers tonight. Right now I am eating the remainder of the sweet potato pie with a big helping of whipped cream. I survived all the chaos of the Thanksgiving cooking and was able to get a few great deals shopping this weekend. Now the craziness of December starts with my youngest son's birthday next weekend. I can't believe that my youngest is turning four! Since the holidays always mean crazy schedules and a press for time, I love using my slow-cooker to make dinner just a little bit easier. Eventually I will also learn to use the pressure cooker that I have in my pantry. So far I have used it to can veggies and soups, but I seem to never use it as an actual pressure cooker. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution this year. Then again I am horrible at keeping resolutions, so maybe not. Either way I fall back on my crock-pot extensively during the holidays. Last week before the massive cooking endeavor of Thanksgiving I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Corn Chowder with Shrimp from All You magazine, which looked perfect for the full house of company I had for the week.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes a total time of 6 hours and 15 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active and makes six servings. I always have to go to multiple stores in my area when making seafood recipes. For whatever reason my local superstore insists on only carrying farm raised fish and shrimp. Having grown-up in the Northwest I shudder at the idea of eating farm raised seafood. I had too many friends that worked in the fisheries dept. and instilled in my head never to eat anything farm raised. So in order to find wild caught U.S. shrimp I have to drive to the grocery store in the suburbs. I had no problem finding any of the ingredients. I made my own chicken stock and as I always do I bought Italian flat leaf parsley. I am not a fan of curly parsley, the texture isn't something that either my husband or I enjoy. Make sure to fully salt this dish. I had to add a decent amount of salt after this recipe was done since the potatoes had soaked up any of the salt added to the soup in the slow-cooker. Finally I did add the heavy cream, without this step it is more of a soup than a chowder. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I served this recipe while my in-laws were at my house and everyone enjoyed it. My oldest son thought the shrimp was the best part, but he always eats more shrimp than anyone else in the house. Make sure that your potatoes are diced small or they won't fully cook in the slow-cooker. My potatoes were a little larger than I would prefer so I would change it if I made this recipe again. For an extra flavor I would suggest adding crushed red pepper. It really would make this dish better since the spices weren't noticeable the way that the recipe is written.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Corn Chowder with Shrimp.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks

My oldest son is in a food stage. He has decided that he no longer will eat cheese and his favorite food is chicken. If I serve any type of chicken he will gladly eat his food. Anything else can be hit or miss. Some days he loves pork, other days he can't stand it. Luckily his younger brother will pretty much eat anything that is given to him. He eats a ton as well. I made a loaf of banana bread last night and he has already eaten the whole loaf. Since one of my kids eat everything in sight and the other one only eats chicken I have been making a ton of chicken recipes. My husband and I also love chicken, so it has been working out relatively well. Recently, I tried a recipe for Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks from the September issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked perfect for my two boys.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. Instead of making flour I used cornstarch since it is gluten-free. I found that it took longer than the recipe suggested for the sauce to reduce. I would estimate an additional 2-3 minutes. Make sure to squeeze the lemon over the finished dish, it really does make a difference to the finished flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Of course my oldest son loved this recipe since it had chicken. He ate his whole serving and then raided the fridge for leftovers. My youngest son loved that he could hold the chicken while eating it, which he thought was hilarious. The flavor was light and complimented the roasted chicken well. The chicken itself was plain, but the sauce was delicious.

For the recipe go to Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks.

White Bean Burgers with Spinach

As a teenager and into my early twenties I was a vegetarian. I have always loved vegetables and beans, but I have appreciated meat more as I've gotten older. When I was growing up I was never a big fan of meat and would eat all my vegetables and side dishes, leaving the meat completely untouched. Finally when I was a teenager my mother agreed to let me give meat up entirely and become a vegetarian. As a vegetarian I ate a ton of veggie burgers. Bean burgers, rice burgers, tempa burgers, you name it I loved them all. In my middle twenties I started eating meat again and then met my meat loving husband. I'm pretty sure that he thinks that bacon is a separate food group. My two boys are somewhere in the middle. While they love bacon and meat in general they are also huge veggie fans. This week I tried a new recipe for White Bean Burgers with Spinach from the July issue of Better Home and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 8 minutes of cooking time and 25 minutes of prep and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to this recipe. First I left off the parsley. My two boys won't really eat parsley in anything, so I rarely use it. I have no idea where the recipe was finding 19oz cans of beans. All the beans I have ever found at the grocery store have been 15.5oz. So I used one 15.5oz can and it worked perfectly. I was unable to find country Italian bread, so I used French bread instead. I toasted it as the recipe suggested. Don't make my mistake and use a small pan. Using a small pan made it hard to flip the burgers, I would suggest using a large pan making the flipping and cooking easier. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These veggie burgers were very popular in my house. My two boys at first were skeptical, but after tasting them they ate their whole servings. I like that they are served open faced, it makes the burgers easy to eat and makes for a beautiful plate. This would be a great recipe for a meatless Monday meal or any day of the week.

For the recipe go to White Bean Burgers with Spinach.

Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta

My oldest son has become quite infatuated with gardening. It all started when the first flowers started appearing at stores in our area and he got the idea into his head that mommy needed to actually plant something this year. Now I always have the best intentions with my gardening, I have a garden bed and great pots for my porch. The first three years after I had my oldest son I always had a great garden and my flowers were always beautiful. Then I had my second son and all my gardening seemed to fly out the window. I grew up with a mother who seemed to be able to grow anything she touched. We had the most beautiful lilac trees that people would ask permission to pick from every year and her tomatoes were always juicy, big and delicious. I have somewhat inherited this green thumb. When I actually get around to planting my garden for the year, it always looks fabulous. Emphasis here is on actually planting the garden. So this year, I actually went out and bought soil, plants and with the help of my three and six-year-old I planted a very nice garden and flower pots are spilling over my porch. They do look very nice and my oldest son is so proud of himself. So much so that today when we drove to the farmer's market in Charleston my son came home with more flowers that he had personally picked out for the porch. In addition to all the gardening supplies we additionally brought home a great bunch of new vegetables, dried beans and spices that I am never able to find in my city. I love shopping at farmer's markets and my two kids have grown to love them also. Cauliflower is one of my kids favorite vegetables to buy and cook from the farmer's market and grocery store, so I was eager to try the recipe for Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta in the March issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. I allowed my cauliflower to cook much longer than the four minutes suggested by the recipe in order to be sufficiently browned. Additionally, I allowed the pasta to cook with the dill mixture for approximately 5 minutes in order for the pasta water to fully absorb and the flavors to be enhanced. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I try to keep my reviews as realistic as possible and this recipe I am sad to say did not live up to expectations. The flavor was bland and the whole wheat pasta when combined with the parsley was way too gritty. So here are my suggestions to save this dish. First and foremost use regular pasta instead of whole wheat. The whole wheat pasta, while better for you does not work with the cauliflower and dill in this recipe. The combination of textures is way too gritty. Second, I would suggest roasting the entire head of cauliflower in the oven at approximately 400 degrees until well browned (about 20-30 minutes). Then chop the roasted cauliflower instead of grating and pan frying like the recipe. Finally, I would eliminate the parsley completely and add capers for flavor. I would also increase the amount of cheese to a 1/4 of a cup and double the amount of golden raisins. I think with these changes this recipe can be significantly better and has the potential to be a great dish.

For the recipe go to Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta.

Matzo Ball Soup

If you've read my blog for any amount of time you know that I love soup. I'm not one of those soup lovers that only enjoy soup in the fall and winter, I absolutely love soup year round. However, it wasn't always that way. Growing up my mom's idea of soup came from a can and was almost always condensed chicken noodle. Don't get me wrong there is something comforting about canned chicken noodle soup, but it pales in comparison to homemade. When I moved out on my own in college I ate a lot of soup, and I mean a lot. My favorites were cream of asparagus and cream of broccoli. Soup was cheap and I had very little money after paying my tuition, rent, and household expenses. I think I probably ate soup at least twice a week for four years. After meeting my husband in graduate school I still ate a lot of canned soup. This didn't change until approximately six years ago when my oldest was born. I decided that I needed to start cooking from scratch after my mother passed away from cancer nine days after my son was born. Given that my grandmother also passed away from cancer I decided to take my future into my own hands and completely change my diet. I basically taught myself to cook through cookbooks, the internet and the knowledge that my mom had given me growing up. And I feel in love with soup. Over the last six years I have made a large amount of homemade soup and gotten very adept at it. As I was looking through the April issue of the Food Network Magazine I came across a recipe for Matzo Ball Soup, which looked delicious and full of fresh herbs and flavor.

This recipe has 11 ingredients in the broth and 9 in the matzo balls. It takes 4 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 35 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did forget to buy coriander seeds, so I left them out of the broth completely. I would suggest making the broth the night before. I let my broth cool in the fridge for 3 hours and while a large amount of fat congealed on the surface there was still a large amount that could still use the extra cooling time and another skim. Additionally, I would recommend straining the broth to further reduce the fat. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this soup, so much so that my oldest son drank all of it out of his bowl and then moved onto his younger brothers. I thought the flavor of the broth was delicious. It had a more distinct flavor than regular chicken broth and made a great base for the matzo balls. The matzo balls themselves needed a little more salt, but other than that were delicious. I liked the addition of the ginger and onion, it really made the taste more distinct. Overall, a flavorful soup recipe that makes lots of delicious leftovers!

For the recipe go to Matzo Ball Soup.

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Bacon

I am sad to say that about ten years ago I gave into the whole steamed vegetable craze and went all in. I literally steamed every vegetable I could for almost a year. My husband was great about it for the most part, he only complained a few times. However, even I became burnt out with steamed vegetables, they can get really boring when not accompanied by any sauce etc. That's when I discovered roasted vegetables and fell in love. Roasting vegetables can make even the most mundane veggie delicious. My youngest child had his first table food as roasted carrots and absolutely loved it. It is the one way of preparing vegetables that I can guarantee that my two kids will eat. Given my family's love of roasted veggies I was intrigued when Martha Stewart Living had a recipe for Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Bacon, combining multiple family favorites.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I did double the recipe since it only made 4 servings and I like having leftovers. The recipe chops the bacon and then fries it, I prefer to make my bacon crisp and then chop it. I feel that the bacon has a better crispiness and flavor when done that way. For the bacon I used thick-cut, it really is great in recipes and makes really crispy bacon. I followed the remainder of the recipe as followed.

The bacon in this recipe is delicious. Along with the roasted vegetables it creates a great flavor that everyone in my family enjoyed. I liked how easy this dish was to prepare and the sweet potatoes give the pasta a nice sweet taste. The leftovers heated up very well for lunches the next day. I hadn't used orecchiette pasta many times before and I was very impressed, I will definitely try it again soon! Overall, another easy and flavorful pasta recipe.

For the recipe go to Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Bacon.

Chicken Provencal

As I have talked about before in the last year I have been making attempts to make my husband and two sons eat more chicken breast. They love chicken thighs and will eat them happily, but getting them to eat chicken breasts is a struggle. I am not much better than they are, if given the choice I will pick chicken thighs or another type of meat. Cut-up and cooked in pasta or stir-fry chicken breast can be moist and delicious. However, when it is cooked as a whole breast it often comes out dry and unappetizing. Therefore I have been trying to make a larger variety of chicken breast recipes, hoping that I will find some that are more appealing to my family. The February issue of All You Magazine had a recipe for Chicken Provencal, which looked like a great new chicken breast recipe to try for my family.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of cooking time and 10 minutes of prep and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store, except for whatever reason they were out of parsley, so since it was just a topping ingredient I left it out. To save time I purchased pitted olives, I hate having to pit olives myself. Make sure to pound out the chicken breasts very flat in order to ensure even cooking and to keep them moist, especially if your chicken breasts are on the large side. I chose to add the capers as suggested as an option to 'dress up' the recipe. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The sauce on this recipe was delicious. It worked well with the chicken breast and even my two sons ate it happily. I do wish that there was more sauce for all the chicken breasts. I think this recipe would be even better if the sauce was doubled. It would allow for the chicken breast to remain moist and the flavors to develop even further. Pan browning the chicken made for a delicious crusty outside with a moist delicate interior. Overall, a chicken breast recipe which is easy to make and has a delicious sauce.

For the recipe go to Chicken Provencal.

Food and Wine Whole-Wheat Linguine with Walnuts, Orange and Chile

As you all know I love pasta and cheese. Separately, together it doesn't matter, I love them both. I have tried unsuccessfully to get my family to try whole-wheat pasta since it became readily available a few years back. Every couple of months I try a new recipe hoping that they will change their minds and realize that they do in fact like whole-wheat pasta. I shouldn't be surprised at their resistance. When I first met my husband he thought that bacon and bacon grease were a major food group. Everything that he cooked was fried in bacon grease and somehow he weighed 130 pounds. Fast forward almost 10 years and I have successfully transitioned him into using olive oil instead of bacon fat and to admit that bacon is a sometimes food. Whole-wheat pasta has still been a struggle. He has slowly progressed to the point that there are a few recipes using whole-wheat pasta that he appreciates and I make semi-frequently. The April issue of Food and Wine magazine had a recipe for Whole-Wheat Linguine with Walnuts, Orange and Chile which looked very simple and I was hopeful that my family would enjoy it regardless of the whole-wheat pasta.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had to make a few substitutions to the ingredients due to their lack of availability. Calabrian chiles are not available in my area, so as suggested by the recipe I substituted crushed red pepper. I doubled the recipe, so I used 2 tablespoons of crushed red peppers to substitute for the 2 tablespoons of chiles. The taste was nice, but I thought a little overly spicy. I would suggest cutting back on the total amount of crushed red pepper if substituting. I toasted the walnuts on the stove top instead of the oven. I find it easier to toast nuts on the stove rather than turning on my gas oven and heating up my entire kitchen. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I am happy to report that my husband and two kids ate this dish and were pleased with the whole-wheat pasta. The flavor was simple and spicy. The orange wasn't very noticeable, so if you want a strong citrus flavor I would suggest increasing the amount of orange peel. My husband took the leftovers for work the next day and reported that they re-heated well. Overall, a simple pasta recipe that my non-whole-wheat pasta loving family enjoyed.

For the recipe go to Whole-Wheat Linguine with Walnuts, Orange and Chile.

Food and Wine Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange

As I've mentioned before I love beets. I have been known to eat an entire jar of pickled beets by myself in one sitting. I am also the same person that gets overly excited when I go to a craft show and they have someone selling jars of pickled beets in their stall, yum. For most of my life I enjoyed my beets pickled and eaten sliced or whole with a large serving of sour cream. Everyone else in my family couldn't stand my beloved beets and refused to partake in my delicious treasures. However, approximately two years ago I stumbled across a recipe for roasted beets and everything changed. My family discovered that they could actually enjoy beets. Now I make roasted beets a couple of times a month and they are always happily eaten. The March issue of Food and Wine magazine had a recipe for Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs and Orange which looked very easy to prepare and full of flavor from the fresh herbs.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes an hour and twenty minutes to prepare and cook, twenty minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. The beets that I purchased were very large and therefore took longer than the hour baking time suggested by the recipe. I had a hard time breaking the cinnamon stick into pieces and only broke it in half instead of into four pieces. To save on time during dinner prep I made the dressing in the morning, which I feel helped to make the flavors blend together and become more flavorful by the time it was served at dinner. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

While this recipe takes 15 ingredients, the taste is really quite simple. The fresh herbs create a nice fresh flavor, which is light and not overbearing. The presentation is beautiful with the color from the beets and the contrast with the green color of the pistachios and celery leaves. My husband liked this dish, but felt that for him it was a little too simple in taste. My two boys ate the beets, but picked off the nuts and fresh herbs. A beautiful dish that is very healthy and simple.

For the recipe Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange.

Bon Appetit Chickpea Stew

In the last couple of months I have been trying diligently to add more beans into my family's diet. When I first met my husband he ate lots of meat and very little fruits and vegetables. Over the last almost nine years I have slowly been adding more beans and vegetarian meals into his diet. Now he is the point that we have at least one vegetarian meal a week and he eats them happily. Beans have been harder than tofu and pasta dishes to convince my husband to eat. He grew up on pinto beans and will eat them happily, but other types of beans can be hit or miss. As I was flipping through a recent issue of Bon Appetit Magazine I can across a recipe for Chickpea Stew, which looked like a perfect blend of beans and chicken thighs and promised to be filling.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes four servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I did use more than two chicken thighs suggested by the recipe. I thighs that I purchased at the store were on the small side and in order to get the full flavor from the thighs I used three thighs, instead of two. Additionally, I used slightly more bread cubes than the recipe called for since my family loves country bread. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I found this stew to be very filling and made more than the four servings suggested by the recipe. I was very proud of my husband for trying this soup and he ended up really liking it. He liked the stew so much that he ate all the leftovers the next day for lunch. My two boys are huge chickpea fans and ate their whole servings quickly. The finished stew is a little on the spicy side for young or sensitive taste buds, so I added Greek yogurt to my son's servings. Overall, a great way to add more beans into your family's diet and easy to prepare.

For the recipe go to Chickpea Stew.